Lucky again? Cavs hoping to win lottery like last year

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are hoping to hit the lottery tonight — again.

A year after getting the No. 1 overall draft pick, which turned out to be Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, the Cavs will attempt to do it all over again tonight at the NBA Draft Lottery in New York.

Good-luck charm Nick Gilbert, the 15-year-old son of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, will once again represent the team live onstage when the proceedings get under way at 8 p.m.

The Cavs, who got the No. 1 pick last year with a 2.8 percent chance they acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, have a 13.8 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick, a 27.9 percent chance of getting the second pick and a 42.4 percent chance of getting the third pick.

The worst Cleveland can pick is sixth, and that would entail three clubs moving ahead of the Cavs in the lottery, which is highly unlikely.

The top player in the draft is widely considered to be Kentucky freshman big man Anthony Davis (6-foot-10, 220), followed by Wildcats teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a 6-7, 232-pound freshman forward.

If the lottery goes true to form and the Cavs end up with the third pick, many mock drafts have them taking Florida guard Bradley Beal (6-3, 205), another freshman.

Though they don’t fill Cleveland’s most gaping holes (shooting guard or small forward), other possibilities are Connecticut big man Andre Drummond (6-10, 251), who is considered a reach by some experts, and Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson (6-9, 237).

The Cavs, who took power forward Tristan Thompson with the No. 4 pick last year, will also have the 24th, 33rd and 34th picks in the June 28 NBA Draft.

Tonight

WHAT: NBA Draft Lottery

TIME: 8 o’clock

WHERE: New York

TV: ESPN

ODDS: The Cavaliers have 138 (out of 1,000) lottery chances for one of the top three picks. They also own the Nos. 24, 33 and 34 picks in this year’s draft.